Young House Love

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Framing Keepsakes In Shadow Boxes

Maybe we should rename our site Young Shadowbox Love. They’re just my jam. I’ve stuffed them with everything from calendars with special dates circled…

Frames Calendar Hung

… to keys from all of our past homes…

Moments Keys Closeup

… to wedding paraphernalia.

Momentos Wedding Shadow Box

I think it just goes back to loving the idea of displaying things that make for happy memories instead of tucking them into a closet in a box that never gets opened. So pretty much from the second we started writing our book over three years ago I had my eye out for things that I could save and stick in a box to forever commemorate this crazy journey that we never could’ve guessed we’d ever be on. One of my favorite things to collect throughout the process were the pencils that we used to make edits on the manuscript and the giant layouts that we’d ship back and forth between the publisher and ourselves.

ShootDay1 Manuscript Ready

The pencils started out long, but over the 336 pages that make up our book they’d slowly get worn down. We’d use different colors depending on the rounds of edits that we were doing (the spellchecker would write in one color, our editor would use another color, and we’d write in a third color) and the papers would get sent back and forth looking like a fun little rainbow of chaos that only the typesetter could understand. As you might imagine, since the outline for the book was written over a year ago, and things were refined and revised over the last ten months with those crazy little pencils, we amassed quite a collection of them, many of which were worn down to half their size after lots and lots of notes in those margins.

Editing

I contemplated just putting the pencils in a shadowbox on their own, but thought it would be fun to add in some other meaningful items to remind us of this crazy book-rollercoaster, so everything from the textured wallpaper to a swatch of fabric, a random post card, and the little personalized rock that reminds us of Burger (all from secret book projects) ended up in my shadowbox pile.

Book Shadowbox1

I had a 6 x 6″ shadowbox from Ikea on hand already (they’re super cheap – $5 I think), so I just cut the textured wallpaper to the size of the frame to act as our background, and then used super glue to hold everything from the pencils and the rock to the fabric swatch in place.

Book Shadowbox2

I let everything dry in place (don’t wanna hang it up until the glue is totally cured since things have to fight gravity once they’re hanging) and then the next day I stuck it into the frame…

Book Shadowbox3

… and hung it up in a nice little place of honor in the hall bathroom. I thought about putting it in our hallway of frames, but for some strange reason it felt like I’d be “burying it” – so I love that it gets a little place of its own so we can gaze at it whenever we’re in that room (it’s where Clara takes her baths and sits on the potty, so we’re logging lots of time in there these days). Oh and we don’t worry about any steam getting in and hurting it since Clara’s baths aren’t hot and we don’t shower in there (our guests have their own guest bath). Whew.

Book Shadowbox5

Isn’t that bike towel cute? It’s supposed to be a dishtowel (I got it for John back here) but it works just as well for drying hands on the way out.

Book Shadowbox6

What have you guys been shoving into frames lately? Anyone else doing odd things like collecting used-up pencils and saving tiny fabric swatches? I can’t be the only one…

Comments

  1. Mina says

    This work is so lovely !
    Your job is really great. Thank you for showing us all your talent and all your great ideas.
    Kisses from France !

    Reply

  5. Meagan G says

    That’s a great idea- I have a tiny little box full of random bits from our wedding.. I think I might just go ahead and pick me up a shadow box from ikea this next weekend (I’ll give them the rest of the week to make sure they have power)

    Glad to hear that you guys made it through the storm okay- I hope your family and ours didn’t suffer too badly in NY.

    Reply

  7. Sarah says

    I just recently finished a shadow box of all my dads patches and pins from when he served in the Air Force. I love that they are contained and being preserved! And I also like it that you dont have to explain every detail you put in. You know what it all means, and if someone else wonders, they can ask! Btw, where did you get the horse towel holder?? I love that!!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      That’s such an awesome project! Sounds so cool! As for the horse towel holder, it’s just a weird iron horse from a thrift store, but I thought he was perfect for holding towels! Haha.

      xo
      s

  8. Cassondra says

    Such a cute idea! I can’t wait to start hanging art on our walls. I have lots of ideas for personalized wall art, I just think it’s wonderful to have memories of life surrounding you on the walls rather than art that anyone can buy at a store (although that’s good once in a while too!). Windows go in today at our place, then the painting can begin!

    Reply

  11. Ainhoa@ALittleBite says

    I love those shadow boxes from Ikea, too. We had to DIY a gift for Secret Santa among friends a few years ago and I used several of those in black & white glued together, forming a checkerboard. It turned out great!

    Reply

  12. kate says

    Love the shadow boxes – this one is a nice reminder of all the hard work you put into the book. But what really caught my eye in the post were the pillows – I must know where you got that green & aqua pillow on the couch – please share the source. Thanks!

    Reply

  14. Alisa says

    Oh how I love that fabric swatches idea!!! I am currently in the final stages of a collection that’s taken me over a year to develop and I’ve been trying to figure out a way to remember it (you know, other than the overflowing closet in my sewing room, of course). I think I might get a big shadow box and fill it with all my fabric swatches and samples I’ve collected. Thanks for the idea!

    Reply

  15. Monica Crowder says

    I wishI had a quarter of the design sense that you guys have. Right now I am saving pennies to buy some adorable rugs. (Inspired by your bedroom rug) Love all the shadowboxes.

    Reply

  18. Cara says

    Is your little dog “Burger” or “Hamburger”? I think you’ve always called him the former, correct? The “About the Author” section of the your book page on Amazon refers to him as Hamburger!

    Reply

  19. Karen T says

    I framed an amazing photo of my parents holding hands. My Father suffered from Alzheimer’s for many years, and even though he lost the ability to speak, he would always hold my Mother’s hand. People have looked at that photo and said: “you can see the love in their hands!”. I guess that’s what happens when you are married for 62 years.

    It’s one of my very favorite things. Having it in a frame reminds me of the special love they had for one another every time I walk by it!

    Reply

  20. Nicole @ Wonderful Joy Ahead says

    Admittedly, we just filled the 11×14 frame in our master bedroom that has had the stock photo in it for over 4 years. I have a shadowbox in my 2 1/2 yr old daughter’s closet that’s waiting for me to get my act together and fill with her bracelets, foot prints, and tiny hat from the hospital when she was born.

    Reply

  22. Tracie@MiddleClassMod says

    So cute. I like the idea of scrapbooking, but I love the idea of really living with your memories so much more. I need to get it together and do this to commemorate some things in our lives.

    I’m really glad your family’s okay, Sherry. On a slightly more shallow note, I saw the flooding in Rehoboth. I hope John’s family’s place is okay. I used to feel awful, worrying about my mom’s beach house during hurricanes (because people/people’s actual homes>vacation homes, you know?), but that house was super important to us and I have so many great memories of it. I know you guys must feel the same.

    Reply

  23. Sheryl says

    My daughter is a sophomore in high school and lettered in 2 sports last year. She didn’t want a letterman’s (letterperson’s?) jacket, so we put her varsity letter in a shadow box. I used her school colors as a background. We’ve also included her sport-specific pins, her state championship pin, and will include her stripe pins as she letters additional years. I love the cost factor: $5-ish for the Ikea shadow box frame vs. $300 for the jacket (which she probably wouldn’t have worn much.)

    Reply

  27. Renee says

    I used your shadowbox key idea recently. I recently remarried and we blended our families. We had the kids read a poem “The Key to Love” as we all dropped skeleton keys into a jar. I recently printed out the poem and glued in the skeleton keys! I’ve had many compliments already – the most important ones from the kids!

    Reply

  28. Amanda says

    I recently picked up some colorful maple leaves when out on a walk and stuck them in some white frames and placed them around the house. The colors are so gorgeous! Your picture wall inspires to start putting “random” things in frames and rotate things around every now and then. I get bored with the same things all the time!

    Reply

  29. Leigh says

    I love the shadowbox. So cute and such a good way to display memories. I frame all kinds of things in my house so I’m glad I’m not the only one! I once framed a post-it. And a dollar bill. And a cassette tape. I think I may have a problem…..

    Reply

  30. Nicole says

    I would have never thought of saving pencils… love it. I am working on a shadow box for our daughter’s birth… I have a photo, special congratulations card, and her id bracelet so far… can’t decide what else to add!

    Reply

  31. Stephanie says

    Love it! I love all your shadow boxes.

    I have a whole bunch of odds and ends from my trips to Europe (maps, misc. coins, rocks from the beach, train passes, ect.) that I should really make a shadow box out of.

    Reply

  33. Lindsey d. says

    I put all the significant medals from my first year of real athletic endeavor in a shadowbox, along with a couple of race bibs. It holds medals from my first 10k, first triathlon, first half marathon and first ultramarathon relay (my team of six women ran 126.2 miles in just over 24 hours).

    http://slowtrier.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/medaldisplay.jpg

    Think I might have to jazz it up with a better background, or even just white instead of black to make everything pop a bit more.

    Reply

  34. Linda says

    I just finished framing the target I used at my first NRA shooting clinic. I did better than I thought I would, and thought my first foray into self-defense should be documented.

    Reply

  36. Janelle D says

    Thank you for posting this! Sounds like a perfect little 1 hour craft project for a gloomy night like tonight. We moved into our new apt over 2 months ago & so far we have one piece of art hung in each room. Haha. Not on purpose, it just happened that way.

    This dude(tte) needs to get on that!

    Reply

  37. Teresa says

    How fun! we just finished renovating our kitchen and although we didn’t find any $ in the walls, we did find a few old clothes pins. They are solid pieces and vary in size/color. I’ve been thinking that if they have been in the walls for 100 years, they now should be displayed. Thanks for the inspiration.

    Reply

  39. Marie-Pier says

    Every time we visit a new city, my boyfriend and I buy a lithograph representing something emblematic of the place. I started hanging our never ending collection on the walls of the stairways, so the display can go on forever on the basement walls! In our bedroom, I hung some pictures of us from a winter photoshoot we did in February earlier this year. It always brings me a smile to pass in front of those precious memories. You must feel the same way as I do when you look at all the cute memories you guys have all around your house !

    Reply

  40. Martha says

    I love this box . . . but am more excited that Clara is logging hours on the potty! (that sounds really awful – I just mean it must be so exciting to be potty-training). I wasn’t sure if you guys would blog about that aspect of toddler-hood, but figured it’s definitely not an issue to press about. Clara might not want that all over the internet forever :-)

    Reply

  41. Bunny says

    My boyfriend is in the process of making a shadowbox that contains the pieces of a pocket watch that he put on train tracks for the train to run over. He’s trying for an “exploded” effect. Yeah – he’s weird.

    Reply

  42. Jamie says

    I work at a tattoo studio so I’m surrounded by amazing artists. I’ve recently framed a tattoo design my friend did of an 1800s cross. One of the other artists gave my husband a colored pencil portrait of John Wayne for his 30th birthday. That’s the newest addition. It’s amazing.

    Reply

  44. Claudia says

    We love shadow boxes, too. We have one from our wedding with the invitation, a piece of my veil, Steve’s boutonniere, a couple of trinkets from the decor, etc. And I am going to make one for all of my son’s karate belts, my good friend made one for her girl, so I will be copying hers :D

    Reply

  48. Crystal @ 29 Rue House says

    I love what you did! It isn’t sentimental yet, but I picked up this flat woven owl thing (wicker-ish material) and I thought I lay it inside a frame before I put it on the wall to give it a bit more structure. Wish I had a picture to show you! As soon as I get a frame big enough (it is probably about 16in wide by 24in tall), I will.

    Reply

  49. Jessica says

    I made a shadow box with my dog’s puppy collar and her little puppy bone with a picture of her in it. I hung it in my bathroom too! Ha!

    Are your book tour dates still on for NY, CT, and NJ?

    Reply

  50. Christa @ a*typicaljourney says

    I truly love all the sweet, sentimental things you guys come up with. I’ve got plenty of pretty accessories in my house, but I really feel like I’m missing the mark with things that MEAN something. I’m taking a cue and starting to scavenge our families’ homes for trinkets and things to infuse into our home. <3

    Reply

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